Basic Nutrition
What is nutrition ?
I will refer to the definition of human nutrition which consists in ingesting food and beverages and serves man to build his body and maintain the vital functions of life.
Nutrition significantly influences the constitution and good physical, physiological, spiritual and social mood of people. Conscious consuming of food and liquids (drinks) is also a human cultural and religious dimension.
The nutrients your body needs to perform vital functions are divided into 2 categories: macronutrients and micronutrients.
Macronutrients are divided into:
- Animal – meat: chicken, fish, turkey, pork, beef, etc.; eggs and dairy products. They contain essential amino acids that help with building muscles and tissues.
- Vegan – cereals: corn, oats, rye, wheat; soybeans, oilseeds, beans, dried peas and other vegetables. They provide a limited but different amount of amino acids.
- Fast – they were once complex carbohydrates, beneficial for the body, but the “human hand” removed from them the dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals and thus remained only simple carbohydrates or sugars, “bad”, which our body quickly absorbs and which deposit very easily in the form of fat, cause sudden increases and decreases in blood sugar.
- Complex – have the great quality of being absorbed much more slowly than the simple ones and provide the body with a constant energy throughout the day, prevent sudden increases and decreases in blood sugar and provide a long-lasting feeling of satiety. The main sources are legumes and whole grains.
- Saturated (red meat, eggs, milk, coconut and palm oils).
- Polyunsaturated (vegetable oils of sunflower, corn, and fish).
- Monounsaturated (olive and peanut oils, which are also indicated for weight loss)
Micronutrients are divided into:
- Fat-soluble vitamins – these can be stored in fatty tissues and liver, being much easier to store in the body compared to water-soluble ones1. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed in the intestinal tract with the help of fats (lipids). The body can store reserves of fat-soluble vitamins for several days and sometimes several months. Vitamins A, D, E and K are part of the fat-soluble category.
- Water-soluble vitamins – they do not stay in the body for a long time, being eliminated fairly quickly2. Vitamin C and all types of vitamin B are water soluble.
The essential nutrient minerals for humans, listed in order by weight needed to be at the Recommended Dietary Allowance or Adequate Intake are potassium, chlorine, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, iodine, chromium, molybdenum, selenium and cobalt (the last as a component of vitamin B12). There are other minerals which are essential for some plants and animals, but may or may not be essential for humans, such as boron and silicon. Essential and purportedly essential minerals are marketed as dietary supplements, individually and in combination with vitamins and other minerals.
Fibers – Dietary fiber is a category of carbohydrates that come from plants and are classified as soluble or insoluble. Insoluble fiber helps prevent constipation and maintain a healthy digestive tract.